When a vehicle crashes into a fixed object such as a house, utility pole, or other immovable property, it is considered a traffic accident according to Costa Rican law. The involvement of at least one vehicle meets the criteria for this classification.
Such incidents result in an infraction and carry a financial penalty of about ¢26,000 for the driver who crashed into the property, explained MartÃn Sánchez Agüero, Deputy Director of the Traffic Police. “This offense is specified in Article 147(a) of the Traffic Law,” he said. However, there were no recorded sanctions for this type of incident during 2025 because it is common practice to issue a citation for the event itself. This citation is then presented to the court, which determines responsibility and may impose further economic penalties based on the Traffic Law or additional compensation for damages.
Sánchez highlighted this issue due to widespread lack of awareness among drivers. He noted that recognizing these cases as traffic accidents is important even for drivers themselves: “It allows them to contact their insurance company to activate their policy if they have third-party damage coverage,” Sánchez said.
The recommendation from authorities is that both involved drivers and property owners should treat such events as road accidents. In minor cases, parties can consider reaching an agreement; otherwise, they may call the Traffic Police and notify their insurers if they hold relevant policies.
